Substitute Lesson Plan: Introduction to Biology

Subject: 9th Grade Biology
Resource: CK-12 Biology Workbook — Chapter 1: "What is Biology? Worksheets" (Sections 1.1 "Science and the Natural World," pp. 2–8, and 1.2 "Biology: The Study of Life," pp. 9–15)

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Objective

Students will be introduced to the foundational ideas of biology by working through the CK-12 Biology Workbook's Chapter 1 worksheets, covering how science studies the natural world and what it means to study biology as "the study of life."

Materials

• Printed or photocopied pages from CK-12 Biology Workbook, Sections 1.1 and 1.2 (pp. 2–15)
• Pencils
• Loose-leaf or notebook paper for the exit ticket
• Board/whiteboard for writing instructions

Warm-up (~5 min)

1. Write on the board: "What is Biology?"
2. Have students take out a sheet of paper and spend 3 minutes writing down anything they already know or think about what biology is or what biologists study.
3. Call on 2–3 volunteers to briefly share one idea from their list. Do not correct or add information — simply collect responses to show that the class already has some starting ideas.

Main Activity (~25 min)

1. Distribute copies of Section 1.1 "Science and the Natural World" (pp. 2–8) from the workbook.
2. Instruct students to work individually or in pairs to read through and complete the worksheet pages in this section.
3. Circulate the room to make sure students are on task and staying within the assigned pages.
4. After about 12 minutes, have students move on to Section 1.2 "Biology: The Study of Life" (pp. 9–15) and complete those worksheet pages in the same manner.
5. Remind students to answer every question on the worksheet pages in complete sentences where required, and to write their name and today's date at the top of their papers.

Wrap-up / Exit Ticket (~10 min)

1. Have students put away their workbooks/worksheets.
2. On a fresh sheet of paper, ask students to answer the following as their exit ticket:
3. In your own words, based on today's worksheets, write one sentence describing what biology is.
4. List one topic or section title from today's worksheets (Section 1.1 or 1.2) that you completed.
5. Collect the exit tickets as students leave or place them in a designated basket/tray.

If Time Remains

• Have students look at the Table of Contents page of the CK-12 Biology Workbook (if available) and identify one upcoming chapter title that interests them (e.g., "The Chemistry of Life," "Cellular Structure and Function," "The Theory of Evolution"). Ask them to jot down the chapter title and one guess about what topics might be covered in it, based only on the title.